Renewable Energy Sources and Improved Energy Management as a Path to Energy Transformation: A Case Study of a Vodka Distillery in Poland

Małgorzata Anita Bryszewska, Robert Staszków, Łukasz Ściubak, Jarosław Domański () and Piotr Dziugan
Additional contact information
Małgorzata Anita Bryszewska: Institute of Natural Products and Cosmetics, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology, 2/22 Stefanowskiego St., 90-537 Lodz, Poland
Robert Staszków: ENERGO-EFEKT Sp. z o.o., Gorki 7A, 60-204 Poznan, Poland
Łukasz Ściubak: Polmos Żyrardów Sp. z o.o., 1-3 Mickiewicza St., 96-300 Żyrardów, Poland
Jarosław Domański: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-530 Lodz, Poland
Piotr Dziugan: Department of Environmental Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska 171/173, 90-530 Lodz, Poland

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: The increasing awareness of the need for sustainable solutions to secure future energy supplies has spurred the search for innovative approaches. Energo-Efekt Sp. z o.o. has prepared a project for the green transformation of the energy system at a producer of spirits through the rectification of raw alcohol. An installation was conceptualised to develop the system to convert energy from biomass fuels into electricity and heat. The innovation of the installation is the use of an expander—a Heliex system which is the twin-screw turbine generator converting energy in the form of wet steam into electrical power integrated with pressure-reducing valve. This system captures all or part of the available steam flow and reduces the steam pressure, not only delivering steam at the same, lower pressure but also generating rotary energy that can be used to produce electricity with the power output range of 160 to 600 kWe. Currently, the company utilises natural gas as a fuel source and acquires electricity from the external grid. Implementing the system could reduce the carbon footprint associated with the production of vodka at the plant by 97%, to 102 t CO 2 annually. This reduction would account for approximately 21% of the total carbon footprint of the entire alcohol production process. The system could also be applied to other low-power systems that produce < 250 kW, making it a viable option for use in distributed energy networks, and can be used as a model solution for other distillery plants. The transformation project dedicated to Polmos Żyrardów involves a comprehensive change in both the energy source and its management. The fossil fuels used until now are being replaced with a renewable energy source in the form of biomass. The steam and electricity cogeneration system meets the rectification process’s energy demand and can supply the central heating node. Heat recovery exchangers recuperate heat from the boiler room exhaust gases and the rectification cooling process. Potentially, all of these changes lead to the company’s energy self-sufficiency and reduce its overall environmental impact with almost zero CO 2 emissions.

Keywords: energy transformation; energy from renewable sources; expander; efficient use of energy; biomass with waste; recuperation of waste heat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7652/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/17/7652/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:17:p:7652-:d:1731974

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().